# Turn the heat up, or put on a sweater? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004 "2017-12-21T16:28:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/1 "2017-12-21T16:28:56Z")
I’m sure this comes up every year, but I just had this discussion IRL again. I actually use my heater in my house so I don’t have to walk around freezing or sit all bundled up. The temperature in my house stays at 77 all year, winter and summer. Anyone else do that? Or does everyone else put on extra clothes to sit inside their own house? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/2 "2017-12-21T16:41:33Z")
The heat goes on (and up). Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain. La de da de de, la de da de da ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/3 "2017-12-21T16:43:20Z")
I have the same discussion IRL with the Lovely and Talented Mrs. **Shodan**. When she is cold, she turns up the heat. When I am cold, I put on a sweatshirt. But I am a good deal larger than she is, and thus I don’t get cold nearly as much as she does. There is no good resolution - she is cold and I am comfortable, or she is comfortable and I feel stifled. Regards, Shodan PS - 77? That would be too hot even for TLaTM **S**. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/4 "2017-12-21T16:45:12Z")
We wear sweaters, but we also turn the heat up to 65º. Mrs. L.A. sometimes turns it up to 70º. But she doesn’t pay the propane bill. She does turn it down to minimum when we have a fire, but she didn’t buy a cord of wood this year so I’m paying five bucks a bundle for firewood. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/5 "2017-12-21T16:50:12Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I have the same discussion IRL with the Lovely and Talented Mrs. **Shodan**. When she is cold, she turns up the heat. When I am cold, I put on a sweatshirt. But I am a good deal larger than she is, and thus I don’t get cold nearly as much as she does. > > There is no good resolution - she is cold and I am comfortable, or she is comfortable and I feel stifled. > > Regards, > Shodan > > PS - 77? That would be too hot even for TLaTM **S**. I wear shorts and a T-shirt in the house. Have you tried that? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/6 "2017-12-21T16:53:23Z")
77 degrees? Do you have a medical issue? That’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/7 "2017-12-21T16:53:35Z")
It’s blankets and sweaters around here. We use propane minimally, and have a fireplace and a wood stove. Mr.Wrekker cut lots of fire wood this year, because we had downed trees from storms. Waste not, want not! The only ones who complain are the cats. I bought them a heating pad for one of the cat beds, they love that. Or they are sitting on me. Because, you know, I am cat furniture! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/8 "2017-12-21T16:55:21Z")
Both. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/9 "2017-12-21T16:55:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > 77 degrees? Do you have a medical issue? That’s hot. I could just as easily say “65 degrees? Do you have a medical issue? That’s cold!” Like I said, I wear shorts and and T-shirt in my house year round. 77 degrees is the perfect temperature for that. How cold do you have your AC in the summer? ---
**Author:** ![Caldazar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Caldazar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caldazar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/10 "2017-12-21T16:58:07Z")
Thermostat stays at 68F and we put on more clothes. It used to be 65F, but we bumped it up when we had a kid for his benefit. Both my wife and I grew up the more-clothes mentality, so there are no disagreements. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/11 "2017-12-21T16:59:24Z")
We keep the house at 50-55 at night and turn it up just in the rooms we’re using, to about 62-64. I put a throw over me on the couch and have a heated neck/back thingie. My subterranean lair is heated with electric baseboard heat and I don’t want to waste it. The rest of the house is propane and that needs to be conserved too. To be honest, even if the heat were way up, I’d still want a throw over me in the winter. I like the feeling of being cuddled up in something – it feels cozy to be ensconced in the couch. 🙂 With heat way up, that would end up feeling too hot. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/12 "2017-12-21T17:01:09Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Like I said, I wear shorts and and T-shirt in my house year round. 77 degrees is the perfect temperature for that. Heh. If you consider anything more than shorts and a T-shirt in the winter to be “bundled up” or “extra clothes”, then yes, we’re on different wavelengths. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/13 "2017-12-21T17:02:07Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > We keep the house at 50-55 at night :eek: 🙂 Do you have AC? If so, what temperature do you have it on in the summer? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/14 "2017-12-21T17:04:56Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Heh. If you consider anything more than shorts and a T-shirt in the winter to be “bundled up” or “extra clothes”, then yes, we’re on different wavelengths. 🙂 LOL, ok. I meant anything that you put on extra simply because it was cold in the house 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/15 "2017-12-21T17:08:43Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > :eek: > > 🙂 > > Do you have AC? If so, what temperature do you have it on in the summer? We have a couple of window units just in the bedrooms for easier sleeping. I keep mine at 60 till the room cools down and then turn it off for the night. We don’t have many heat waves (but we do get them from time to time). And 50-55 during the winter, but supplemented with electric blankets/mattress pads. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/16 "2017-12-21T17:12:05Z")
I don’t think it’s possible to heat this place up to 77 in the winter with the current heating system. And with heat loss being (very roughly) proportional to the inside-outside heat differential it would mean adding 15-25% to the heating bill. (More probably, since our neighbors are unlikely to have their thermostats that high and we’d create a positive heat flow out through interior walls and the ceiling as well as outer walls.) I don’t know how outside temperatures vary where you are, but personally I would compensate as much as reasonable (i.e. I’m not turning it down to 50 and wearing a parka) with clothing even if the heating/cooling costs were a fraction of what they are here. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/17 "2017-12-21T19:26:08Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I could just as easily say “65 degrees? Do you have a medical issue? That’s cold!” > > Like I said, I wear shorts and and T-shirt in my house year round. 77 degrees is the perfect temperature for that. > > How cold do you have your AC in the summer? Probably around 74-75 most of the time. If I know I doing some cleaning I lower it to 72. Winter I keep the heat at 67-68 during awake hours. I have it go to 69 for the morning wake up. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/18 "2017-12-21T19:26:48Z")
Lets see, I’m working from home today, the thermostat is effectively set to ‘off’ (actually 50F, but it’ll never get that cold today) and claims that the current inside temperature is 60F. I’m sort of dressed for it (jeans and a thick PNW-issue flannel shirt). We don’t pay too much attention to it but if the family is all here and awake it is pretty typical to set the heat to 65F. Once people are asleep we’ll bump it down to 60F. The kids all have warm blankets (my ~3 year old daughter insists on sleeping under five blankets, even in the summer!). Somewhere in the 60s is perfect for our interior, in my opinion. If it gets much lower than that I do get uncomfortable and bump it up a little bit. It is also nice to have the heat actually running when we wake up because it makes the bathroom nice and toasty. We’ve never heated higher than that. We don’t have air conditioning so I’ve never cooled it down to that in the summer. It is mostly not hot enough to justify air conditioning here, but there are a few days here and there where I miss it. 77F would be stifling for me in the winter. I’d be dying to get outside. It sounds insanely expensive too. One of my least favorite temperature differentials is when the bus operator heats their bus to the max. It isn’t nice being dressed for the outside cold in a stuffy, dry, hot box. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/19 "2017-12-21T19:28:02Z")
Our pellet stove thermostat is set to come on somewhere between 67-70 - it’s not exactly calibrated. If it’s feeling chilly for any reason, I’ll pull on a sweater or sweatshirt. My spousal unit will grab an afghan - generally when he’s lying on the couch watching TV. I don’t like the house to be too hot - it gets too dry. Cooler is better as far as I’m concerned - I can regulate my comfort with layers. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004/20 "2017-12-21T19:34:23Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Probably around 74-75 most of the time. If I know I doing some cleaning I lower it to 72. > Winter I keep the heat at 67-68 during awake hours. I have it go to 69 for the morning wake up. So you actually have your house warmer in the summer than you do in the winter? That’s a fascinating concept to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turn-the-heat-up-or-put-on-a-sweater/805004.md?page=2)